Protest gains worldwide exposure

More than 200 business owners and their families stripped off  and held up placards, some reading “Lend Lease took the shirt off my back” and in doing so got media coverage in a number of countries across the world.
Leader of the group, now known as “Erina Fair Action Group”, Joanne Howarth who lost almost $2 million in her business venture at Erina Fair, bought shares in Lend Lease which earned her the right to speak at the AGM. 
Mrs Howarth was able to put the case of some eighty business owners to shareholders and the Board of Directors.
However, the Chairman of the company dismissed her as a failure.
Mrs Howarth said that as a result of the protest more business owners who had been badly treated by Lend Lease and had been too frightened to speak out are now joining her group.
Earlier, the Action Group had letterbox dropped 20,000 leaflets to homes and businesses around Erina and Terrigal telling residents of Erina Fair’s dealings with their tenants.

The leaflet said that since Lend Lease extended Erina Fair in 2003 over 80 small businesses had been financially devastated. Lend Lease knew that this would happen and went ahead with the extension anyway, it said.
It went on, “Due to the actions of Lend Lease, tenants have attempted suicide, suffered marriage breakdowns, suffered heart attacks, had chronic depression, lost their family homes, lost their entire life savings and been forced into bankruptcy.”
The leaflet asked for support against “this big business bully”
The Slattery Family who lost $2 million in court costs alone, fighting the company after losing their business in Erina Fair and have started in business again and are supporting the Action Group.
“It was not just us,” said Rhonda Slattery.  “It is a very large number of people that are being rorted, raped and pillaged every day and every year.  It needs to be stopped now.”
“They know all the tricks and have the best contracts money can buy. We were invited and enticed to lease premises and were made a number of promises. They lied.”
“Lend Lease have been destroying small businesses in Erina Fair for many years. I was wiped out by them ten years ago.  There is not a day that passes when we are not affected by this, as well as countless others,” she said.

[Note from Editor: Central Coast Business Review has received fourteen letters from tenants and some disgusted shareholders voicing their opinions about Erina Fair management.  The Slattery’s letter is indicative of them all.]

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